Getting Funding - help to get LEADER and other grant funding

Because you can spend a lot of time trying to make something happen just because it is funded, not because it is the best thing for your business or community organisation. Sadly, some people chase a stream of funding and then realise that they are actually being dragged away from their original idea.

We recommend that you decide what you want to do before finding a grant that will fit.

Why are there so many grants?

Different UK department departments, lottery organisations and the EU all have certain things that they want to encourage from time to time. Any one of them may decide to offer grants to encourage people to make things happen, and it would be impossible to have one central place that issues and judges grants.

Although this makes things complicated, the chances of success are better for people who invest time and money in getting it right.

Getting a grant step two - finding the grant itself

We have a lot of information about the RDPE LEADER grant, which is available in rural areas and focused on farming, forestry, small businesses, tourism and communities. We also have a lot of hints and tips about finding any grant and making the best case for yourself.

The useful information page lists hundreds of other grant schemes as well, so you probably do not need to pay foto look in a directory

This site will help you find a grant by offering some hints and tips about what to look for, where to look, and how to think about your idea in a slightly different way.

How to find grant sources

Follow this list to find more details about grants local to you:

Our useful information page - visit the websites that seem relevant to your business or geographical area

trade or professional associations, the NFU, or networks for voluntary bodies

your local business link, enterprise agency or chamber of commerce

your borough council or county council (look for the 'economic development' team)

grant funding directory sites - but see warning below about their value for money

Consider what the grants aim to do. For example, promoting culture and heritage can vary from restoring buildings to holding a local concert or painting local traffic bollards. Providing you have followed the steps on the writing applications page in order you will know what you physically want to do, and then you can think about the many ways of describing what benefits it brings to the area, the community or to specific people.

Do not pretend that your project is something it isn't. However, if you have a look at a few case studies you will notice benefits that could be highlighted but which you might have overlooked.

Finding the right bank

Choosing the right bank can result in you being made more aware of funding opportunities, getting good value, getting good support and advice in developing your idea and understanding the risks and rewards involved in making your idea happen. Here is a short guide to choosing the right bank

WARNING

Grant directories often fill the first page of an internet search for 'grant funding'. Although these seem perfect, bear in mind the following 2 points:

most grant directories charge you an annual fee (from £60 to over £200) for just searching their list

all grant schemes will put their own details on the web for you to find at no charge - remember, they want to award the funding! They just lack the marketing budget to be listed at the top of a search like the payable directories.

Make your web search more detailed - e.g. grant funding for farming, voluntary organisations, etc. and scroll through a few pages to get genuine results.

Some directories are very pro-active in letting you know what grants and funding are around. Their value depends whether you just want a grant now or whether you always plan to be applying for a grant somewhere!

LEADER Grant funding

We have quite a lot of information about LEADER, which is offered across Europe and is for rural areas. There are more details here ...